Do I have Lupus

I am a 24 yr old white female. For the past year I have had pain in my knees and hips and have had a severe amount of fatigue. I have been extremely active my whole life until recently when the pain started. I got blood work done last year and my ANA Titer was 1:320 but no other tests (RNP, Double Strand DNA, etc) came back positive. My Doctor asked me to wait a few months and have the tests repeated. Last week I had the same tests done and again my ANA Titer came back at 1:320 but the rest were negative again. I also had a urine sample done and everything came back perfect. My doctor is very focused on the idea of me having Lupus because of the high ANA Titer and my symptoms. I am worried that it may be something else because everything else keeps coming back negative and can not tie to me a Lupus diagnosis and my doctor may be focused on the wrong thing. HELP! I need another opinion

[lupiemomof2]

The ANA is present in many other illnesses besides SLE and is often found in healthy individuals with no symptom presentation at all.I would not let the dr label me with a SLE title based soley on that test and at that titer(its 4 dilutions only so really not that high)I would ask for a referral to a rheumy and if this is a rheumy would seek out another one.

Once you are labeled with SLE you will be unable to have it struck from your medical records(if they said no never mind later)and having the diagnosis will most definately affect the ability to get medical coverage and life insurance-I thank god I had life ins in place before I got diagnosed-my diagnosis was quick because of the ds-dna and other tests so I had no time to activate coverage.

Ask for a referral to a specialist-and while waiting get insuarnce coverage now before the possibility of any AI illness diagnosis-youre young and the premiums will be almost nothing.If you get a diagnosis on your record you will be excluded from coverage other than bare minimum(like 10,000)and its wildly expensive if you can get it at all.

Good luck

[Joni686]

Having a positive ANA is only a part of the equation.  What other symptoms do you have?  You said joint pain, what else?  My ANA is 1:1280 and it took almost a year to diagnose me with lupus.  I still have a negative dsdna but my anti-chromatin antibodies having now come back positive.  It took two years for that to happen.  I would say a good Rheumy would probably tell you you have a mixed connective tissue disorder at this point but that's just my guess.  You do need to find a good Rheumatologist though.  Family docs don't know enough to diagnose and treat properly.  Oh and don't worry so much about labels, I know you want to know what's going on but in the world of autoimmune disorders it's hardly ever black and white.
I'm here if you have any questions.  God's Blessings...

[beccabrwn]

Thank you both for your input! lupiemomof2--I have a great doctor who advised me of the insurance issue. I was able to get my own health insurance a little over a year ago and waited to get blood work done until I knew the time period had lapsed from when they can take it away. But your advice is extremely helpful and I'm so happy to have people like you informing people of that issue. I was clueless and without my Doctor advising me on this I could have been really screwed.

Joni686-- I have had pretty mild symptoms in the grand scheme of things. The biggest things are the pains in my joints and the never ending fatigue. I have tried adjusting my diet and lifestyle to be as healthy as possible but cant beat these symptoms. I have always been extremely athletic and ambitious with life and lately I literally  can not stop sleeping! (I'm beyond happy with my position in life right now so I know that this cant be depression or anything like that)
I am planning on seeing a Rheumy but need to wait until my finances are straightened out. In the meantime, have you found anything that works with these symptoms? Outside of autoimmune disorders do you know of any other diseases I should be tested for?